◄Previous: 5 Stress

# 6 Diphthongs

Greek vowels can be combined to form a new sound. The same phenomenon can be observed in English words like ‘pair’ or ‘shout’, where two vowels work together to create a sound distinct from that of the individual vowels.

This combination is called a diphthong, ‘double sound’, from the Greek prefix di- (δίς, dis = twice) and (φθογγή, phthongē = sound; recall that double gamma makes an ng sound). The Greek diphthongs are shown below, and spoken out loud, along with an example of a word using each diphthong.

αι  καί, kai = and

This browser does not support audio playback.

αu  αὐτός, autos = self

This browser does not support audio playback.

ει  λείπω, leipо̄ = I leave

This browser does not support audio playback.

ευ  εὑρίσκω, heuriskо̄ = I find

This browser does not support audio playback.

οι  οἴμοι, oimoi = alas!

This browser does not support audio playback.

ου  ἀκούω, akouо̄ = I hear

This browser does not support audio playback.

Other combinations of vowels should be pronounced separately. For example, the iota and epsilon in:

ἱερόν  hieron = temple

This browser does not support audio playback.

Breathings appear above the second letter of a diphthong: this explains why the breathing sits above the second letter of αὐτός and εὑρίσκω, but the first letter of ἱερόν.

## Activity 4 Speaking aloud (4)

Allow about 5 minutes

Say the following words, then listen to the pronunciation.

Ἀθηναῖος (= Athenian)

This browser does not support audio playback.

δεῖπνον (= meal)

This browser does not support audio playback.

oὐ (= not)

This browser does not support audio playback.

φεύγω (= I run away)

This browser does not support audio playback.

πλοῖον (= vessel)

This browser does not support audio playback.

Ἰούλιος Καῖσαρ (= Julius Caesar)

This browser does not support audio playback.

### Discussion

The words are as follows:

- Ἀθηναῖος (Athēnaios)
- δεῖπνον (deipnon)
- oὐ (ou)
- φεύγω (pheugо̄)
- πλοῖον (ploion)
- Ἰούλιος Καῖσαρ (Ioulios Kaisar)

Now, identify the number of syllables in the following words, then pronounce them out loud. You will be able to listen to audios in the discussion afterwards.

1. βίος

one
two
three

2. οἰκία

one
two
three

3. ποιέω

one
two
three

4. Οἰδίπους

one
two
three

5. ποιεῖ

one
two
three

### Discussion

βίος, bios = life

This browser does not support audio playback.

οἰκία, oikia = house

This browser does not support audio playback.

ποιέω, poieо̄ = I make

This browser does not support audio playback.

Οἰδίπους, Oidipous = the Theban king Oedipus

This browser does not support audio playback.

ποιεῖ, poiei = he, she or it makes

This browser does not support audio playback.

◄Contents►Next: 7 Practice

OpenLearn - Getting started on ancient Greek
Except for third party materials and otherwise, this content is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence, full copyright detail can be found in the acknowledgements section. Please see full copyright statement for details.